All posts tagged Karl Sanders

KARL SANDERS from NILE appeared on NECKBREAKER‘s full-length interview this week. Topics include:

– weird show lineups NILE has been on
– NILE fan tattoos
– SPOTIFY royalties
– their 2007 OZZFEST run / free tickets to fans
– thoughts on their current SUMMER SLAUGHTER tour
– best/worst show experiences and much more.

The free, full-length episode is available for download via iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, the Shining Wizards Network, or you can stream/download the episode at this location.

The NILE segment closes the episode around 1:53:25

NECKBREAKER is a pro wrestling and heavy metal themed show. Hosts Brian Thompson, John Aubrey, and Chris Kessaris sit down with guests from both worlds, drink alcohol, and have casual, laid-back conversations.

Dubai death/thrash perpetrators, NERVECELL, will reissue their critically adored Psychogenocide full-length via Unique Leader early next year. Applauded by Metal Hammer for their, “…thrilling contrast between oriental and musical culture,” and called a, “must have for every metal hornet,” by Legacy, the ten track offering was initially unleashed in Europe via Lifeforce Records in 2011.

In anticipation of its release on North American shores, NERVECELL revisits their video for “Shunq (To The Despaired…King Of Darkness)” featuring NILE‘s Karl Sanders on guest vocals. Elaborates the band: “This particular song is special as it marks the first extreme metal track ever to include both Arabic lyrics mixed in with English lyrics, and who better else to have come on board and collaborate on this theme with us than the legendary Karl Sanders from Nile. The word ‘Shunq’ in Arabic has two meanings: to choke or to be hung by the neck. The song consists mainly of ideas and knowledge gathered from sources that speak about Lucifer and the demons that serve him. The song ‘Shunq (To The Despaired…King Of Darkness)’ speaks about the battle of us humans and these demons in reality, in the end Satan himself brought forth to justice. The clip was directed by Shane De Almeida and edited by Ahmad Al Sharif in the city of Al-Ain in the United Arab Emirates.”

Adds Karl Sanders, “As an American, hearing the Arabic growl is scary, as you have an immediate association with it. Also, given the nature of death metal itself – which aims to frighten – people are becoming used to English, so it’s not that scary. Arabic gives it a new level.”

During the shoot, The National News Paper of Abu Dhabi (capital city of the UAE) came out to interview the band where vocalist/bassist James Khazaal talks in-depth about the video’s concept. Check it out at THIS LOCATIONand view the video HERE.

In related news, NERVECELL will be laying waste to stages in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria later this month on the second leg of their Psychogenocide European tour. See confirmed dates below.

An album centered around manipulation and the deception of the human race for an agenda of a higher purpose, Psychogenocide was produced and engineered by Rami H. Mustafa at Spellbind Studio in Dubai, with drums engineered by Joe Haley at Red Planet Studios in Australia, then mixed and mastered by Wojtek and Slawek Wieslawscy at Hertz Studios (Behemoth, Vader, Decapitated) in Bialystok, Poland.

Psychogenocide will be reissued worldwide on January 27th, 2015 via Unique Leader Records with preorders to be announced in the coming weeks.

Metalship websize conducted an interview with Karl Sanders of South Carolina-based extreme technical death metallers NILE last month in Tokyo, Japan. You can now watch the chat below.

NILE will tour the United States once again this March and April, with 28 shows supported by three of the best local bands in every market. NILE will play two massive sets with music spanning their prolific, twenty-year career.

“In order to commemorate our 20th year as a band,” states Karl Sanders, “we want to bring NILE and all metal fans an evening of NILE music that spans our entire career and play two full sets with only a brief intermission.

“After years of many package tours, the necessary set time restrictions have often meant that NILE‘s had to streamline our set. Fans didn’t always get to hear the songs they came to hear. Thankfully, some of those classic NILE songs we have been itching to play for years will now get a chance to be heard live. We are extremely fired up.”

“Another facet of this tour which was very important to us,” continues Sanders, “we have asked promoters to include the best three local bands from their respective areas on the bill. Supporting local bands in each city is a way for us to give something back to younger bands and the metal scene. We’ve asked promoters to keep ticket prices low, so that fans of all ages can come and join us for an evening of metal.

“In these difficult times of our recessionary economy, an evening of killer metal shouldn’t have to break the bank. NILE are going to do our part: biting the bullet and rolling the dice to bring metal fans in the USA an unforgettable evening with NILE for a reasonable ticket price.”

NILE‘s seventh full-length album, “At The Gate Of Sethu”, sold 3,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 131 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD landed at position No. 2 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

On July 5, 2012, Sam Hatch of WWUH radio’s “The House Of Zazz” program conducted an interview with Karl Sanders of South Carolina-based extreme technical death metallers NILE. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

“The House Of Zazz” airs Tuesday nights from midnight to 3:00 a.m. on 91.3 FM in Hartford, Connecticut, and is streamed live on www.wwuh.org.

NILE‘s seventh full-length album, “At The Gate Of Sethu”, sold 3,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 131 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD landed at position No. 2 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

NILE‘s previous album, “Those Whom The Gods Detest”, opened with 3,500 units back in 2009 to enter The Billboard 200 chart at No. 160.

Other “At The Gate Of Sethu” first-week chart positions:

Germany: #27
Austria: #61
Switzerland: #61
Finland: #37

“At The Gate Of Sethu” was released in Europe on June 29 and in the U.S. on July 3 via Nuclear Blast Records. The follow-up to 2009’s “Those Whom The Gods Detest” was once again produced and mixed by Neil Kernon, who has previously worked with NEVERMORE, CANNIBAL CORPSE, QUEENSRŸCHE and DEICIDE, among many others. The CD artwork was handled by a true genius of darkened visuals, Seth Siro Anton (SOILWORK, PARADISE LOST, SEPTICFLESH).

Joshua Bottomley of Hails & Horns recently conducted an interview with Karl Sanders of South Carolina-based extreme technical death metallers NILE. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Hails & Horns: Karl, how long did it take to write the new NILE album [“At The Gate Of Sethu”]?

Sanders: I started in May [2011]. We finished our two-year touring cycle for “For Those Whom The Gods Detest” in April of last year. I took the rest of April and got over a case of severe bronchitis that I caught on tour in Europe that winter, then got to work in May and wrote all the way to November. Just an insane amount of hours put in. I really wanted to up the bar this time. In six months I wrote nine songs, seven of which we used on the record. Three more I co-wrote with Dallas [Toler-Wade, guitars, vocals].

Hails & Horns: NILE is a very technical, guitar-oriented band. Is recording the guitar parts the most frustrating aspect of the recording process?

Sanders: Absolutely. You said it. This album we quadruple-tracked the guitars and we took like a month to friggin’ do it. We were insane. We wanted to have the sharpest and cleanest and tightest guitar stacks that could be possibly imaginable. Because you know what? Goshdarnit, we want the fans to hear the fuckin’ riff. As long as it took to get those fuckin’ things razor sharp, that’s what the fuck we did. Because, man, it really makes a difference, when you take the time and the headache and go through the agony to get that shit clean and tight, it just makes the riff that much meaner and focused.

Hails & Horns: Have you ever thought of slowing it down? Making a “Black Album?”

Sanders: Oh, fuck no. But it’s an interesting tale along those lines. During the early part of envisioning this record, and wondering what sort of songs I was gonna write, we had some encouragement from folks within the label and management to experiment a little bit and bring in other elements and whatnot. I was in an experimental mood, so I had all these ideas about acoustic guitars and OPETH-like sections. But then as I started writing, and actually doing it, I didn’t write anything like that. It was all fuckin’ twice as heavy. I was scratching my head, wondering, “How am I supposed to explain this to the label and management?” They wanted us to experiment and hear I am doubling it up twice as brutal. Then the funniest thing happened. There was a video on YouTube that went around called, “Adolf Hitler Reacts to the New Morbid Angel Album.” It clicked in my head. I don’t have to explain myself to anybody. I’m not gonna fuckin’ experiment and fuck around and change our sound, except to go more extreme, more shredding, and more brutal. We’re into doing new things, but they’re in our own fuckin’ vein. We’re not jumping ship. Fuck no.